About Julie Hall

Hi, I'm Julie Hall, the founder of Women Unlimited. Which is my 4th business. I've had a business as a headhunter, a consultant, a new media agency and now finally Women Unlimited. I've learned lots of lessons - many of which could have been avoided. I hope you find the articles and stories on this website useful, and feel free to get in touch, I'd love to hear from you.

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19 comments

Great Article. I use the WordPress platform, and there are literally no less than 50 plugins you can use to interact and collaborate with your sites visitors. Additionally, I think using the CommentLuv plugin is one of the most exciting new tools one can deploy to build relationships between website visitors and the site owner!

I am a WP user, too and also a big commentluv plugin fan. It really shows us tons of useful abilities. This plugin has great benefits in developing a beautiful blog and its optimization. In my opinion, it should be a must-have tool for bloggers these days because of its benefits

Have you considered recording this and putting it up as a webinar? I’m currently transitioning between being in employment to being self-employed. I’d absolutely LOVE to attend this but won’t be able to make it because I’ll be at work.

Itching to book the next Business Club meeting – They are SO Good and Linked In is really important. Please let me know when you publish it and I will book in. See you next month and have a great Summer

Is there ANY workable grants sources for a start-up? I am so tired of all the pointless advice thrown at me lacking sensible information and reasoning, that concerns my situation. And often they are given to me by a person who has never run or owned a business and really have no clue how pointless their advice is.

I am finding it impossible to get funding for my project although I have a lot of business experience and past business success.

I am currently unemployed after a period of recovery from illness, when I had to close business. I can’t even cover travel costs to meetings. It is impossible to find a funding source for the min £30,000 I need to get started. All I want to know where can I send my application for a £30,000 grant that I actually qualify to apply for. There seem to be a million criteria and restrictions. I know I can make the business happen once the funding is in place. I have a fabulous untapped market and few competitors in the regions. I have potential for substantial growth even in less than two years. But I cannot create castles out of the £5 a day I current live on to also cover start-up costs…

AJM, we do not offer funding advice as it’s not really our area…. and it is really tough to find money out there. However, Paul Grant does a brilliant session called How to fund a startup at the British Library and they have a course on tomorrow! http://www.bl.uk/bipc/workevents/fundstartup.html

Hi. I just wanted to leave a suggestion to the person who wanted the 30,000 grant to start her business. Sorry but it is generally unlikely you will get a grant or loan for your business. I know it is harsh but it will not happen.

However this does not mean you give up on your business idea. You might want to look at taking a partner.

Yes a partner might is probably the way to go. Someone you know…maybe. How about a competitor who might be willing to invest in something. They may see the value and with their resources they can actually see you getting off the ground. They understand your business.

Also, depending on your business, you might be able to interest a vendor in investing in your idea. Many businesses actually use vendor financing of inventory, etc. to get off the ground.

Also you can start talking to people. In any event you will need a great business plan. A presentation strategy. The financials well prepared. The key is who will be your customers and how you will get their business.

Don’t give up just realize a grant or loan is not going to happen so spend your time more productively and get it done. You need a partner (silent or otherwise). You will want to have a lawyer draft whatever partnership deal you can live with.

Generating traffic is such an important skill- building a wesbite is the easy bit! I have dabbled in various free methods of generating traffic and find posting to local blogs a slow but effective process.

Ellen, What platform are you currently using? I use WordPress with Genesis framework and Studiopress theme. I find these tools to be incredibly intuitive. In addition, since many people use these same tools, the support forums are great resources for help, ideas, and tricks. I highly recommend WordPress — to say the least!

Great mission,Julie! I know a lot of women(and that includes my girlfriend) that prefer to work for themselves – it’s more satisfying and they can manage they time and responsibilities easier. Some of these women have great business ideas, other not so great and therefore they have a bigger competition…And most of them don’t have the right educational background, but they have the guts to achieve something. I think it’s wonderful to have some help and support! Good luck to you and all the business women!